The invention relates to a plug connector for making an electrical connection with a battery terminal.
In various applications, particularly in motor vehicles, a plug connector is needed to make a reliable electrical connection with a battery terminal. The electrical connection must be capable of withstanding vibrations. Moreover, the plug connector should be of simple construction and be easily placed on the battery terminal.
DE 197 18 448 A1 discloses an electrical plug connector which receives a substantially cylindrical pin part in a substantially cylindrical chamber of a socket part. An annular resilient contact element is arranged in an annular groove in the contact-making region between the pin part and the socket part. An annularly arranged helical spring serves as the contact element. The helical windings of the spring are arranged at an angle to the axis of the helix.
Because of the expected use of 36-volt and 42-volt systems in motor vehicles in future, battery contacts like those described above will no longer adequate. In such systems, a contact protection means should be provided to make direct contact with the battery terminal difficult. The battery contact should also be protected, by a housing to avoid direct contact.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a plug connector, for making contact with a battery terminal, which can be easily mounted on the battery terminal, quickly and reliably without the application of much force. For safety reasons, it should only be possible to dismantle the device with difficulty. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a plug connector which is easy to assemble and therefore can be constructed in a simple way.
These and other objects are achieved by a plug connector in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The plug connector comprises a housing formed by joining an upper shell and a lower shell with a contact lying within the housing. The contact has a helical spring contact and a contact strip bent to form a cylindrical region. The upper shell and the lower shell each have a holding element extending within the cylindrical region formed by the contact strip, in order to form a recess for holding the helical spring contact.